phases of insanity
by Melara Yuhi
1. Default Chapter

Mel: Okay! A 2+5 fic in progress!!!

Daichi: …

Mel: *grins* Let's just get to work, I haven't done one of these in a long time…

Tsuru: Have you ever done one of these?

Mel: Well if I haven't, It's been a while, hasn't it?

Tsuru: …

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Disclaimer: I own squat. You get the idea.

Warnings: Shounen ai. Young boy love for those you that know no japanese.

Setup: because I am too lazy to write an introductuion* Duo and Wufei are living in a small house and attending a school in an undercover mission. For the past week, Duo has made the two of them late, and Wufei threatened to leave without him the next day. This is that next day….

Mel: See? I am lazy!

Daichi: I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, I don't wish I were back with the other authoress, *continues to chant*

Mel: O.o I think I scared him….

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Phases of insanity

"Maxwell, you've been in there long enough! If you don't come out soon, I'm coming in!" Wufei pounded on the door to the bathroom. "American baka, you're going to make us late for school again." Wufei paused and waited for some smart reply. He didn't get one. "Duo?" There was no sound coming from the room, not even the running water that should have been heard considering that Duo was supposed to be taking a shower.

Wufei hesitantly carried through with his threat, not wanting to invade his friend's privacy. It was a good thing that he did.

"Oh my God…." Duo was lying on his back in the bathtub, completely submerged in water. His violet eyes were wide open, but unmoving, much like the rest of him. His lips were white, lined with a deep blue, and slightly parted. The thing that scared Wufei most was his skin, deathly pale and thin, patterned by the underlying veins. "Duo!"

Wufei shivered as he shoved his arms into the water to pull Duo above it. It was like liquid ice. He grabbed Duo's shoulders, and pulled him into a sitting position. His head rolled back, then over his shoulder, and came to rest on his chest, letting water spill out of his mouth. He wasn't breathing.

"Shimatta!" Wufei hoisted Duo's bare form out of the freezing water, and laid him down on the floor on his back. "What happened to you?" He checked for a pulse. It was there, and it was even, but slow and weak. Wufei carefully placed one hand on Duo's forehead and pressed down while using the other to lift his chin slightly, opening the airway. Duo's body remained cold and still.

Wufei pinched Duo's nose, then took in a deep breath. He carefully sealed his lips over Duo's mouth, then slowly exhaled. He took in another breath, and blew into Duo again, then checked for a pulse again. It was slightly faster than last time. Good.

The Chinese boy again blocked Duo's nasal passage, then breathed into him. He counted to five, and then exhaled again. He knew that air was getting into Duo's lungs because he could feel Duo's chest press against him, then relax.

"Come on Duo…" Wufei was running out of breath, but he didn't dare stop helping Duo. He prepared to blow into Duo again, but he was caught off guard when the air was sucked out of his lungs. Wufei quickly took his mouth off of Duo, and coughed. Duo began to breathe slowly on his own, but it was bubbly from the water still in his lungs. His eyes closed, then opened again, but they didn't move. Wufei lifted Duo up, and the boy wrapped his arms tightly around Wufei, his breathing becoming much more labored. "D-Duo…" Duo's face contorted with pain, and he twisted his hands into Wufei's shirt. He put his head over Wufei's shoulder, and pressed his chest up against the confused boy.

Wufei realized that the only way to get Duo to calm down was to get the water out of his lungs. He gave Duo a quick upward smack on his back, and he began to cough violently, shaking Wufei with him. He could feel water trickle down his back as it left Duo's mouth. When Duo finished coughing, Wufei gently tried to pry the braided boy off of himself.

"N-n-no!" Duo clung tightly to Wufei, and pulled his legs up to himself.

"What is it?" Wufei tried to turn so he could look Duo in the eyes, but he would have none of it.

"No, no, no, no, no…" Duo continued to chant to himself as he buried himself in Wufei's chest.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here." Wufei ran his hands over Duo's back in slow, comforting circles. Duo felt colder than the water had. If he didn't warm up soon, his muscles would seize up. Wufei twisted slightly, and slid his arm under Duo's knees. The boy let out a small cry of protest as his legs bent. "Does that hurt?"

"Y-yes…" Wufei briefly debated his options. Move Duo Quickly, causing only a sharp jolt of pain, but risk tearing the tendons in his legs and lower back; move Duo slowly, causing him incredible pain, but be at no risk of tearing his muscles; or leave him where he was to die. The choice was obvious.

"Duo, this is going to hurt." Wufei slowly bent Duo's legs, preparing to lift him. He tried to ignore the soft cries being emitted from the cold form in his arms. As he lifted Duo into the air, the boy shifted his grip from the shirt, and dug his nails into Wufei's back, drawing blood. "Don't fight with me…"

Wufei began to walk out of the room. The shock of footsteps made Duo lose his grip, twisting his waist painfully as he fell away from Wufei's chest. His cries of pain stopped abruptly, and he stopped moving completely.

"Duo!" Wufei gently shook the half dead boy, trying to get a response out of him. Duo's eyes stayed open and still as his head rolled lifelessly from side to side. "Chikusho!" Wufei ran into the nearest bedroom, which happened to be his own, and laid Duo down on the bed. "My God…"

Wufei's eyes traveled across Duo's body. His skin was opaque now, but still as pale as the sheets on the bed. A dark patch of purple caught Wufei's attention. He gently moved Duo's mass of wet hair to the side to inspect his shoulders. Large bruises had formed where Wufei had touched him. His wide violet eyes twitched slightly, and his breathing became violent again.

Wufei quickly gathered the covers in the room, and piled them on top of his ill friend. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and lightly ran his hands along Duo's chest, trying to get him to relax. Duo's breathing slowed, and his eyes blinked.

"W-Wufei…" Duo's voice came out raspy, and he looked surprised. "Wh-what happened? Wh-why can't I move?"

"You don't remember?" Duo stared at Wufei for a few moments, then shook his head slightly.

"N-no, I d-don't." Duo sneezed, then began to shiver. "It's c-cold…" Wufei pulled the blankets tighter around the frail boy, and sighed. "What happened?"

"I found you in the tub, unconscious. I don't know how long you were under water." Duo shifted to lift himself up, then winced in pain and fell back on the bed.

"How the hell did I get there?" The question had not been directed at anyone specific, so Wufei didn't answer. He simply shook his head, and turned to get something to clean the wounds on his back. "Who did that to your back?"

"You did," Wufei replied, turning to face Duo. The boy's eyes widened, and he held out a shaky arm. "It's alright., You just rest now." The pale boy blinked slowly, then relaxed.

"Gomen nasai…" Wufei shook his head, then headed to the bathroom.

"Where did I put that…" He pulled various bottles out of the medicine cabinet looking for the alcohol. "Argh! I can't find it!" Wufei gave up looking, and pulled off his shirt. At least now he wouldn't irritate the wounds.

A soft thud made Wufei tense up. He and Duo were the only ones in the house. Wufei stuck his head into the room he had left Duo in. The boy had fallen half way off of the bed, his head twisted so his left ear was pressed against the floor. He was tangled in the blankets from the bed, and hopelessly pulling at one that had wrapped around his neck.

"Don't pull at it. you'll only make it worse." Wufei knelt down beside the capsized Shinigami, and gently tried to untangle him. Duo narrowed his eyes at the Chinese boy, and tightened his grip on the sheet constricting his windpipe. "Maxwell, I'm not fooling with you. Let go." Duo pulled on the sheet, and coughed. Wufei grabbed his hands and pulled them away from the sheets. As he attempted to untangle his friend, Duo struggled, pulling a blanket tight around his stomach. "Duo! Stop it!" Duo pulled hard away from Wufei, flipping his feet over his head to hit Wufei in the face, and sliding his upper body under the bed.

Wufei waited for his vision to clear, then gently slid Duo out from under the bed. He now had deep purple rings around his neck and stomach. He had gone back into his trance-like state. Wufei carefully lifted the thin boy up onto the bed, and sat down next to him, waiting for him to respond.

After a few minutes, Duo gasped, and began to shiver violently. Wufei pulled a blanket up off of the floor, and over the boy. Duo grabbed onto Wufei's arm and curled up against him for warmth. Wufei sighed, and wrapped his arms around the feeble 02 pilot, and soon fell asleep.

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Mel: So? What do you guys think? Can you think? Is that a valid question?

Tsuru: O.o Uh huh… I think she's lost it…

Mel: Nope! But I know someone who has!! Can anyone figure out what's wrong with Duo? Should I continue this story? Should I have just left this one on my computer and not tortured you with it? Should I stop babbling and work on my fics?

Tsuru: SHUT UP!!!

Mel: ^__^ Daichi-chan!

Daichi: Hai?

Mel: Remove this thing.

Daichi: *looks _way_ up at Tsuru* Has she gotten any sleep recently?

Tsuru: No, but she's a few minutes away from being late for a Kat appointment.

Daichi: Ahhhhh…


	2. Chapter 2

Mel: *grins* I love reviews…..

Tsuru: *sighs*

Mel: *floats* They just make me want to write more…..

Tsuru: Then why are you babbling?

Mel: *falls into computer chair* I must type! Get the crap over with so I can start!

Tsuru: *sighs*

Legal Crap: Nope. Don't own it. Probably never. Will own it.

Warnings: None that I can think of, other than the possible eventual shounen ai…

Tsuru: Isn't that an oxymoron?

Mel: *has already started typing*

The phone rang, rudely awakening the sleeping Chinese boy. Wufei groaned as he rolled out of bed, being careful not to hurt Duo, who had given up on hugging Wufei and was now sprawled out taking up as much of the bed as humanly possible. Wufei laughed quietly before leaving the room. That braided baka was back to normal at least in his sleep…

The phone continued to ring, nagging for someone to pick it up. Wufei sighed and went into the kitchen to do just that.

"Hello—"

"Hello. We are calling to inform you that your child **Duo Maxwell** did not attend school today. We expect a note within two days of his return in order to mark that absence excused. Thank you." Wufei blinked as the recording cut off and terminated the line. He then turned to see a very amused Duo standing in the doorway.

"Yep…. That's not the first time I've heard that one. They don't even care about us enough to give us a live person. We get a pathetic recording with an inserted name…." His smile was lopsided as he plopped down in the chair closest to him at the table. "So, when do I get dinner?"

"You want food? You make it." Wufei hung the phone back up and was about to leave the room when it rung again.

"$10 says that this one's for you." Wufei ignored Duo's comment, and picked up the phone again.

"Hello. We are calling to inform you that your child **Chang Wufei** did not attend school today. We expect a no—" Wufei hung up. He didn't have the patience to deal with that at the moment. His mind was still asleep, and he hadn't had much to eat all day. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was 7:00 in the evening. He hadn't realized how long he had been asleep.

"Oi Wu-bear… you shouldn't have hung up on them. Now they'll call back. You might even get a real person this time…."

"Wu-bear?" Wufei blinked at the nickname. It was one he hadn't heard before.

"Uh… yeah…. Wu-bear….. don't like it?" Wufei shook his head and prepared to leave the room again.

"Baka. I don't know what force is keeping me from killing you, otherwise I wouldn't be continuously stuck on missions with—" The damn phone began to ring again.

"Well, it seems that they're on top of th—" Duo stopped in mid word. His eyes closed slightly and suggested that he had zoned out again.

"Duo?" No response. Wufei kneeled down in front of the boy and shook his shoulder. Still nothing, and the damned ringing wouldn't go away. In a fit of frustration, Wufei picked up the receiver and slammed it down again, before leaving it off the hook. Now he wouldn't have to worry about the phone for a while.

"Hm…." Duo tilted his head to the side, his eyes unmoving.

"Cut it out." Duo lifted his hand up to the braid behind his neck and pulled it in front of him, using the other to grab for a knife on the table. "What the hell are you doing? Put the knife down!" Duo pressed the knife against his braid, close to his head. Wufei reached down and wrenched the knife out of his grasp. Duo grinned again, then slumped over. Wufei was stunned at what had happened. He dropped the knife on the ground and began to shake the boy in front of him.

"Uhn…" Duo shook his head from side to side before looking up at Wufei. "O-onii-san?" Wufei barely had a chance to blink before he was knocked to the ground by a flying hug. "Wheeeeeee!" Duo squealed with delight as Wufei skidded back on the floor, Duo on top for the ride. "That was fun! Can we do it again? Onegai?"

"Maxwell, what is wrong with you? Stop acting like a child." Wufei shoved the boy off of him and stood up, leaving Duo sitting on the ground looking up at him.

"Why can't we do it again, onii-san?" Wufei stared blankly at the reply. Why was Duo doing this? Had Maxwell finally snapped? "Why not?"

"What?"

"Why can't we do it again?" Wufei shook his head at the bright violet eyes staring up at him, so child-like. It was frightening.

"I have to make dinner. You said you wanted dinner, right?"

"I'm not hungry." Duo stood up and started to walk out of the room, touching almost everything he could get his hands on on the way out.

"Where are you going?"

"Upstairs to play." At this, he ran up the stairs, as if afraid that if he went any slower he would be given something else to do instead. Wufei bent over to pick up the knife and put it out of sight until he figured out exactly what was wrong with Duo…

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Soft humming could be heard coming through the closed door to Duo's bedroom. Wufei hesitantly opened it to find Duo sitting in the middle of the room making a small brown teddy bear dance in the air.

"D-Duo?" The boy ignored Wufei and continued to play with his bear. Wufei felt his chest tighten up at the sight. Duo wasn't supposed to be playing with a stuffed animal and acting like a 5 year old. The whole situation was so wrong, Wufei began to feel a strong fear overtake him. He reached down and snatched the bear away from Duo, throwing it out of the room.

"Hey! No fair! Give him back! Give me back Wu-bear!" Duo stood up and tackled Wufei, knocking him to the ground for the second time.

"W-Wu-bear?"

"Give him back!" Duo lifted a hand to hit Wufei with, but it froze in the air. The boy's eyes relaxed, then his arm slowly fell. For a few moments, he looked as if he was asleep.

"Duo?" Wufei barely whispered the name. Before Duo's eyes returned to life and he began to talk.

"—ings today…." Duo looked around, confused for a moment, then down at Wufei. "What happened? How did I get here? How did you get here?"

"Y-you don't remember?" Duo arched an eyebrow.

"No… What should I?" Wufei gawked at Duo, his mind trying to comprehend the situation. "Hey! What's this guy doin' out here?" Duo reached over and picked up the brown bear, then looked down at Wufei again. "Oops! I'm sorry… didn't realize I was sitting on top of you…" Duo got up carefully, so as not to hurt the Chinese boy, then went into his room and placed the bear on top of his dresser.

"T-that bear….."

"Hmm? What about it?"

"W-why do you have it?" Duo grinned at Wufei's puzzled expression.

"What? You think it's odd for a 17 year old to keep a teddy bear in his dresser?" Duo laughed and patted the bear on the head. "Well, this guy's just a little keepsake from when I was little. He's not all that old, but when I saw him in the store, it reminded me of the one Father Maxwell gave to me when I was little. So, I picked him up." Wufei propped himself up on his elbows and stared at Duo again.

"So you named him Wu-bear?"

"H-how— who— what gave you that idea?" Duo sputtered his reply, his face turning bright red.

"Because that's what you called it a few minutes ago while you were playing with it." Duo's expression looked somewhat like a cross between a man who had eaten his last meal, and a dear caught in headlights. "Sit down." Duo nodded slightly and began to sit down on the edge of his bed. He missed and landed on the ground. Wufei stood up and walked over to Duo, hoping he was still himself and was just so stressed out he missed the bed when he tried to sit. That hope was killed immediately.

As soon as Wufei leaned over to check on Duo, the boy shot up and darted past him, knocking him over for yet a third time. Duo sprinted down the stairs faster than he had ever gone before, and was almost instantly in the kitchen. He tore through the drawers until he found a cutting knife. Wufei got himself on his feet as fast as he could, and hurried to save Duo from doing something he might regret.

Duo heard Wufei's hurried footsteps and quickly ran the knife into the palm of his hand. As the cold blade pressed through his still pale skin, he smiled. Even as Wufei was desperately prying the knife out of his hands and pinning him to the wall, all he wanted to do was watch the thick red blood flow from the wound and across his hand, down his arm. What fascinated him most was when little droplets formed at his elbow and let small ruby spheres fall to the floor.

"Duo! Pay attention to me!" Duo looked up at Wufei and smiled, wishing to share the wonderful calm happiness he was feeling. He would have reached over for the knife again if it weren't for the fact that his good hand was pinned behind his back. He was seriously considering breaking out of the grasp…

….And then he screamed.

Quick, panicked sobs were all that came from the boys mouth, other than a few unintelligible words of fear. Tears streamed down his face as he stared in horror at his mutilated hand. Wufei pulled both of Duo's hands in front of him and held them each by the wrist.

"Calm down. If you calm down, I can help." Duo shook his head violently from side to side and tried to break away from Wufei. He continued to cry and scream like mad, making it very hard for Wufei to think. Frustrated, he did the only thing he could think of to shut the boy up. He smacked him across his face.

Duo imidiatly shut up. His eyes glistened with tears as he stared at Wufei. "O-oniisan….. I-it hurts….. you hurt me……" He continued to cry, but he was no longer screaming. Wufei pressed his hand over the wound in Duo's hand, trying to supress the bleeding. The boy cried out in pain again, but quickly shut up.

"We're going into the bathroom so I can dress this. Maybe I can find something to stop the pain."

"I-it hurts….."

"I know… I know…" Wufei sighed in exasperation and took the shaking boy into the bathroom. He flipped the seat down on the toilet and motioned for Duo to sit there while he rummaged through the medicine cabinent for something to cover the wound until he could get him to a doctor. He might be able to find something to numb the pain while—

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!" Wufei winced at Duo's voice. He turned around to face Duo, who looked like he was ready to kill something.

"Duo. Shut up."

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?!?!?! Just two seconds ago, I was sitting down on my bed after you told me I had been playing with a stuffed animal! Now I'm sitting on a toilet with a FUCKING HOLE IN MY HAND!!!!!!"

"Shut. Up." Wufei gave Duo a look that would kill. The boy returned it with an equally sinister look.

"I am not going to 'Shut. Up.' I want you to tell me what the hell just happened. That's the third time I've just appeared in a completaly different situation! What's going on?"

"You missed the bed, then ran downstairs and stabbed a knife into your hand. After I took the knife away from you, you began to kick and scream like a child until I took you up here. Are you happy now?" Duo gaped at Wufei, unbelieving as his hand was wrapped in a white cloth. "Come on. We're going to get your hand stitched up." Wufei left the room, and slowly, Duo followed.

To be continued….

Mel: *grins* I did that all in one sitting too! I'm happy!

Tsuru: *blinks* For that piece of crap?

Mel: *glares at Tsuru* You weren't any help, so you have no right to talk.

Tsuru: *shrugs*

Mel: *sticks tongue out*


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